Mythbusting the social credit system
China's social credit system is notorious. This Black Mirror-esque network supposedly gives citizens a score, based on an opaque algorithm that feeds on data from each person's digital and physical li...
13 Juni 202254min
How the Cultural Revolution shaped China's leaders today
All eyes are on the Communist leadership this year, as the months count down to autumn’s National Party Congress, where Xi Jinping may be crowned for a third term. But how much do we really know about...
30 Maj 202253min
How powerful is the People's Liberation Army?
It’s clear now that Vladimir Putin didn’t expect his army to perform quite so badly when invading Ukraine. As much as that is celebrated in much of the world, it will be a cause for concern – or at le...
16 Maj 202242min
Does China want to change the international rules-based order?
China is often accused of breaking international rules and norms. Just last week at Mansion House, Foreign Secretary Liz Truss said: 'Countries must play by the rules. And that includes China'.So what...
2 Maj 202235min
Algorithms and lockdowns: how China's gig economy works
‘One Shanghai courier uses own 70,000 yuan to buy necessities for people’, one Weibo hashtag trended last week. Instead of being seen as a damning indictment on what the state’s strict lockdown has in...
18 Apr 202241min
Reinventing the Chinese language
After defeat in the Second Opium War, Chinese intellectuals wracked their minds for how the Chinese nation can survive in the new industrialised world. It’s a topic that has been discussed on this pod...
4 Apr 202245min
The Taiwanese view on Ukraine
Taiwan is not Ukraine. But despite the very important differences in their situations, the Russian invasion can still shed much light on Taiwan's future. Even many Taiwanese think so – and have follow...
21 Mars 202235min
Freud and China: a love affair
This episode of Chinese Whispers is slightly different – instead of taking a look at a theme within China, my guest and I will be seeing China through the eyes of the psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. Prof...
7 Mars 202240min
